Scalars and Vectors

Scalar - quantity that has only a Vector - A quantity that has both
magnitude magnitude and direction
Examples: Examples:
Mass, Length, Time, Temperature, Position, Displacement, Velocity,
Volume, Density Acceleration, Momentum, Force

Force Vectors
 Represent by a letter with an arrow over it such as A
 Magnitude is designated simply A
 Commonly, vector is presented as A and its magnitude (positive quantity) as A

Resolution vector
Any vector can be resolved into two components by the parallelogram law
The two components A and B are drawn such that they extend from the tail or R to points
of intersection

Steps to solve the vectors operation

Parallelogram Law
Make a sketch using the parallelogram law
Two components forces add to form the resultant force
Resultant force is shown by the diagonal of the parallelogram
The components is shown by the sides of the parallelogram
To resolve a force into components along two axes directed from the tail of the force
Start at the head, constructing lines parallel to the axes
Label all the known and unknown force magnitudes and angles
Identify the two unknown components

Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel

 trigonotmetry
Redraw half portion of the parallelogram
Magnitude of the resultant force can be determined by the law of cosines
Direction if the resultant force can be determined by the law of sines
Magnitude of the two components can be determined by the law of sines

Sample Problem 1
The screw eye is subjected to two forces F1 and F2, Determine the magnitude and direction
of the resultant force.

Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel

Cartesian Vector
What is cartesian vector ?
 It is a coordinate system
 Use to describe position
 Position can be defined by its
coordinate axis
 It is a unit vector uA = A / A
 Its magnitude is 1 and
dimensionless
 It is denoted as i,j,k
 i is a unit vector pointing in the x
direction
 j is a unit vector pointing in the y

Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel

Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel
2d vector
Step 1
Resolve the vectors into X and Y components
Step 2
Then add them into respective components

Step 3

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 3d vector
The vector A can be resolved as

If A+B=C
Given
Sum of the vectors A and B can obtain
vector C

How to determine magnitude and direction angle in 3-D vector?

It should be noted that in 3-D vector information is given as:
 Magnitude and the coordinate direction angles, or
 Magnitude and projection angles

The magnitude of the position

vector A

 The direction or orientation of vector A is defined by the

angles , β, and γ
 These angles are measured between the vector and the
positive X, Y and Z axes, respectively. Their range of values
are from 0° to 180°

 These angles are not independent. Its must satisfy the

following equation

 It can be derived from the coordinate direction angles and the

unit vector
 Unit vector of any position vector is

Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel

Sample Problem 2
Determine the X and Y components of F1 and F2 in Cartesian vectors

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Sample Problem 3
Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant force

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Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel
Sample Problem 4
Determine the force F as Cartesian Vector

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Sample Problem 5
Determine the magnitude and coordinate direction of the resultant force acting on the ring

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Position Vector
What is position vector ?
 It is a fixed vector that locates a
point in space relative to another
point
 A Position can be defined by its
coordinate in 3-D space
 A Position vector directed from A to
B is denoted as rAB
 Let point A (XA , YA , ZA ) and B
(XB , YB , ZB )

Force Vector Directed Along a Line

 It can represent the force vector in
Cartesian coordinates by using a unit
vector and the force’s magnitude
o Step 1: Established position
vector rAB
o Step 2: Established unit vector
uAB = rAB /rAB )
o Step 3: Magnitude of force F =
F uAB

Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel

Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel
Sample Problem 6
The elastic rubber band is attached to points A and B. Determine the length and direction measured
from A to B

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Sample Problem 7
Determine the force FAC in the Cartesian vectors. Given , the 420 N Force along the cable AC

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Dot Product
 A dot product of vectors A and B can
be defined by A∙ B = AB cos 𝜃
 Use to determine the angle between
two vectors and its magnitude
 Its angle  is the smallest angle
between the two vectors and is
always in a range of 0 º to 180º
 The result of dot product is a scalar
(±Number)
 Units of the dot product will be the
product of the units of the A and B
vectors)

Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel

Law of Operation of Dot Product
1. Commutative law A·B = B·A
2. Multiplication by a scalar a(A·B) =
(aA)·B = A·(aB) = (A·B)a
3. Distribution law A·(B + D) = (A·B) +
(A·D)
Cartesian Vector Formulation
Dot product of Cartesian unit vectors
Eg: i·i = (1)(1)cos0° = 1 and
i·j = (1)(1)cos90° = 0
Similarly i·i = 1 j·j = 1 k·k = 1 i·j = 0 i·k = 1
j·k = 1
- Dot product of 2 vectors A and B A·B
= (Ax i + Ay j + Azk)· (Bx i + By j + Bzk)
= AxBx (i·i) + AxBy (i·j) + AxBz (i·k) +
AyBx (j·i) + AyBy (j·j) + AyBz (j·k) +
AzBx (k·i) + AzBy (k·j) + AzBz (k·k)
= AxBx + AyBy + AzBz
Note: since result is a scalar, be careful of
including any unit vectors in the result
Galingan moooo!!!♥ -kineeeel